Paul Smith

The Dam Cafe in Tahoe City, North Lake Tahoe, California is a fun place to stop by for breakfast, lunch or just a dam cup of coffee. Some mornings on my way to work I stop by The Dam Cafe for a cup of drip coffee or an illy espresso. I normally see several friends as I walk in the door, this is a true locals place to gather. I have a favorite table back in a corner that has a view of the dam. From here I can watch the early morning tourists walking by.

 

 

The Dam Cafe menu includes a variety of dam sandwiches, burritos, smoothies and more. My favorite item on the menu by far, is the Bacon Burley Burrito, it is a flour tortilla stuffed with bacon, cheese, rice, beans, pico de gallo, sour cream and avocado. If you have one of these bad boys for lunch you might as well forget dinner. If your short on time, they do accept call-in orders.

 

 

During the summer months, The Dam Cafe in Tahoe City is also a fun place to bring the kids for a soft serve ice cream, they can choose from a variety of flavorful toppings.  There’s outside seating, a great way to eat lunch while enjoying the warmth of the sun.

The Dam Cafe is located at the “Y” in Tahoe City. There are several activities just minutes from the Dam Cafe. If you head to the south you will cross over the Truckee River on the "Fanny Bridge", take a careful look over the side and deep in the water you will see giant rainbow trout. 

 

 

 

 

Some of the area shops sell fish food so you can feed these giant beauties. Depending on the lake level, you can raft down the Truckee River and dock your raft at the River Ranch Lodge, another fun place for lunch. 

 

 

 

Visit my website for more activities and Lake Tahoe information.

After visiting The Dam Cafe, if you think you would enjoy a place of your own at Tahoe, my website allows you to search all current homes for sale in the Tahoe Sierra MLS. You can also sign up to be notified of new listings that meet your personal home search criteria.

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Free Skiing lesson at North Lake Tahoe in the Highlands.

Today I decided to take the day off and take advantage of a Free Skiing lesson at North Lake Tahoe Ski Area in the Highlands. The weather was warm, so the skiing was good but not great.

 

 

 

The lesson was designed to learn cross country skate skiing for The Great Ski Race on March 7, 2010. This annual race is a fund raising event for the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue. The race and the Free Skiing lesson are held at the Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area in the Highlands near Tahoe City.

The instructors are from Rossignol and they come fully equipped with skis, poles and boots for the students. The free skiing lesson started out with learning the basics, such as adjusting pole straps, balancing techniques, and body mechanics. The students ranged from the first day on skis to the highly experienced that were just looking for a few good tips.

I came to the free skiing lesson not for tips on skiing The Great Ski Race but to improve my technique, and my technique can definitely use some improvement. The instructors lead us up the hill with helpful advice along the way. After a few minutes they split us up into two groups. One for those who just came for a free ski lesson and one for the serious racers. I left full of information and maybe even a better skier.

The Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area, located in the Highlands, offers several free skiing lessons during the winter. During the summer months, the Highlands is a popular place for mountain biking. The trails offer biking for all levels from meadow trails with gradual hills to technical single tracks.

This is just a couple of several activities the Highlands at Lake Tahoe has to offer. For more Lake Tahoe information visit my website.

Tahoe Properties For Sale

 

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Lakeview dining at Captain Jon's at Lake Tahoe, 7220 North Lake Blvd. Tahoe Vista, CA 96148

Last week I took my wife and daughter for Lakeview dining at Captain Jon's in Lake Tahoe. When we entered the restaurant we were greeted by the owner, he seated us at a table next to the fireplace. We were offered the early bird menu, because we arrived before six o'clock. We were pleasantly surprised to see such a large variety, everything from burgers to fresh fish. At twenty dollars a plate including wine, I felt this is a great value.

 

 

 

                                                                                         
My daughter ordered the seafood sampler with salmon crabcakes, coconut shrimp and seared ahi, my wife had the  swordfish and shrimp cajun alfredo and I had the grilled swordfish. While we waited for our food we enjoyed warm bread, wine and good conversation. After a short wait our food arrived, the presentation was appealing.

                                     

Captain Jon's has a casual dining area and bar on the pier, just below the main restaurant. I had some enjoyable times there last summer. They had tables set up at the waters edge where I could literally look right down into the water. This is a popular place for friends to meet for happy hour food and drink specials. Occasionally they have live music, it was open mic night the last time I was there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In years past, we would take the boat to Captain Jon's. This was always a favorite when the lake level was a bit higher. We would spend all day out on the lake waterskiing, fishing or whatever the weather allowed. After, we could motor over, pull in a slip and walk up to the restaurant. Back then there was a grand piano in the dining room. The pianist's name was Dave and he would play songs requested by the guests, it was great fun. Maybe someday they will bring back the piano and Dave.

I would highly recommend  Lakeview dining at Captain Jon's in Lake Tahoe.

 

Would you like to live at Lake Tahoe?

 

 

 

 

 

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Great Pizza Place at Lake Tahoe in Tahoe City, CA. Last Wednesday it was my turn to buy tacos for the office. Along with great pizza, Front Street Station Pizza Company makes incredible carne asada tacos, and they have a three taco special on Wednesdays. The tortillas are heated in the pizza oven so it only takes minutes to have your tacos sitting in front of you.

 

 

 

 

They are filled with carne asada, cilantro, onions and cheese on request. They have a variety of sauces that range from mild to extremely hot. The tacos are nicely packaged in a pizza box, this makes it easy to transport them to my real estate office and keep them hot. If I had choosen to, they do accept call in orders.

 

Last summer when we went for tacos; we ate them at the restaurant.  They have a deck out back over looking the Truckee River, but this time of year its just a bit cold. I like to sit at the bar where it's warm and you can watch the current sports event on the overhead television.

 

 

 

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If tacos are not your thing try their great pizza. If you're short on time they offer pizza by the slice, which only take a few minutes to prepare. One of my favorites is the chicken teriyaki. It’s on the spicy side and tastes incredible.

 

 

 

 

Another experience I had at Front Street Station was for lunch, and there were so many people there that I could not get in the front door. I thought it would be at least an hour before I would get my pizza. With great persistence I was able to make my way to the counter and I placed my order. Much to my amazement, in less than 15 minutes I heard the pizza man say, "Paul, your order is ready". Earlier I had found a river view seat on the deck, as I stood to get my lunch there he was, the Pizza Man with my pizza in hand. I smiled as he handed me my steaming hot slice and then I thanked him. It was an amazing lunch and I highly recommend you give it a try. It's not easy to find a Great Pizza Place at Lake Tahoe.

 

 

 

 

 

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If you have never taken a scenic flight over Lake Tahoe from Tahoe City, California, I highly recommend doing so. A couple weeks ago I heard the weather was going to change and snow was in the forecast for the next few weeks. With this in mind I knew this might be the last chance to go flying for a while. So I called to get a weather briefing and the weather report was perfect. The Tahoe Truckee Airport is only about 20 minutes from my home in Tahoe City, so my wife Toni and I headed to the hanger.

 

 

 

Our plane is a Grumman Cheetah and it is hangered at the Tahoe Truckee Airport. We took off mid day for the short but scenic flight over Lake Tahoe to South Lake Tahoe Airport with plans to walk into town for a late lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

Runway 28 is the calm wind runway at the Tahoe Truckee Airport which is the opposite direction to the lake, but this will give you some time to climb to a safe altitude before heading over the Brockway Summit. As we approached the summit Northstar Ski Resort is off to the right and you can see skiers enjoying a day on the slopes.

 

 

 

 

 

Then appears Lake Tahoe, a huge beautiful blue body of water surrounded by snow caped mountains. As we headed south our scenic flight over Lake Tahoe took us along the West shore, and we enjoyed views of Tahoe City, Homewood Ski Resort, Emerald Bay and much more.

 

 

 

 

 

As we approached the south end of the lake, and Lake Tahoe Airport came into view, we headed across the water to the Nevada California State line. Flying below the mountain tops we entered the pattern for a landing on runway 36. On the downwind leg there are mountains on the left and in front, and as you turn base there are more off the to left again.  Then we turned final to a wonderful 8,544 foot runway that looked like we could land and take off three times before getting to the end.

 

 

As we taxied to the tarmac, the flight based operator, Mountain West Aviation, had an attendant ready to guide us in to a tie-down. They waited for us to shut down the plane and then offered to give us a ride into town and gave suggestions on where to eat. They have a very comfortable lounge with restrooms and a sitting area with a television and snacks. All the employees were eager to help and answer questions.

 

 

 

 

After lunch and a short walk around the airport it was time to head back. On our scenic flight home we took a different route flying north over Lake Tahoe’s east shore and were amazed at the things we were able see, such as Cave Rock, Sand Harbor, Marlette Lake, Crystal Bay and the clear blue Lake Tahoe.

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for viewing my blog “Scenic Flight Over Lake Tahoe From Tahoe City” and I hope you get the chance to enjoy a scenic fight over Lake Tahoe soon.

Would you like to live at Lake Tahoe?

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